


Standing on the Edge

by LenoirWhittlethorn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Affection, Fluff, Gen, Gen Fic, Hugging, keith doesn't know how to ask for hugs, maybe some smelling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-24 03:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8355505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoirWhittlethorn/pseuds/LenoirWhittlethorn
Summary: Keith doesn't know how to ask for hugs.





	1. Shiro

**Author's Note:**

> A ton of thanks to my bestie [Glitchikinns](http://glitchikinnsblog.tumblr.com) for proofreading these chapters and being so patient with my constant dialogue/sentence mistakes. <3

_ You can always come to me for anything. _

Keith remembered those words, engraved them so deeply in his mind, that whenever he hurt, they flashed forward. A part of him was cynical, words like that were pretty puffs of air. But when Shiro spoke, the words had weight. Keith could hold on to them and knew that whether it was that one day or a year ago or now, those words had merit.

Still, he hesitated at Shiro’s bedroom door. His palms were getting sweaty and his legs were stiff from standing for awhile. He was having second, third, and fourth thoughts about coming over here.

‘ _ It was only another dumb nightmare. Shiro’s having a lot worse,’ _ Keith spat at himself. ‘ _ What if he’s actually sleeping? _ ’

The nightmare shouldn’t have bothered Keith; he was a little kid standing outside his elementary school, watching as the other kids got picked up by their parents or hopped onto a shiny yellow bus. For some reason, he couldn’t move at all, then everything went blue. All the vehicles drove away and Keith reacted too late. He ran after the last school bus, but it vanished. He stood in the middle of the road, sensing that there was nobody else around, as if the whole town just disappeared. Little Keith was alone and cold; his heart ached and throbbed with anguish.

Keith had jerked awake, not sweating, but feeling a lot worse than that. He was so cold and filled with dread. He needed someone to make his nightmare’s icy grip to loosen around his heart. Maybe he could even--

The door hissed open, causing Keith to take a few steps back. His face flushed when he saw Shiro standing in the doorway, his stance indicating that he was ready for a fight. Both of them looked at each other for a couple ticks, before Shiro cleared his throat.

“Keith? How long were you standing there?” Shiro’s voice was rough.

‘ _ He  _ was  _ sleeping, idiot _ .’ Keith clenched his jaw. “J-Just for a little bit, I’m sorry.” He gave a short bow and closed his eyes in exasperation. Some habits never went away.

Shiro sighed in relief. “No harm done, but you know my door isn’t locked. You could’ve walked in any time.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I thought that...you might be sleeping,” Keith mumbled. It was a half-truth, he was more worried about being scolded or yelled at. Shiro never had and probably never would, but Keith couldn’t prevent himself from freezing up.

“I only doze here and there, besides it’s, what? Early morning? You know I’m always the first one awake.” He smiled reassuringly. “The question is why are you up so early?”

The words were stuck in Keith’s brain, refusing to be vocalized. ‘I had a bad dream’ felt so childish and dumb. Why did he rush over here? He should’ve sealed it down like all the other times. He was better than this, he had to be better for Shiro’s sake. But he couldn’t shake off the ice-cold sensation in his gut.

_ You can always come to me for anything. _

Keith slowly raised his eyes to Shiro and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I, uh, woke up feeling...lon--low.” He held his hands, inwardly cringing at his sweating palms. “I only wanted to see a familiar face,” he huffed and looked away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lurked around.”

A soft hum came from Shiro. “Bad dream?” he prodded gently and smirked when Keith whipped his head back towards him. “That distant, haunted look in your eyes gave it away. I’ve seen those eyes before.” He glanced off to the side, before refocusing on Keith.

Everything was crumbling inside of Keith. “Your dreams are worse, your pain is worse, I shouldn’t be bothering you,” he whispered.

“Don’t say that. There’s no ranking system on pain, Keith. Your feelings are valid and you have never bothered me or wasted my time.” Shiro stepped out of his doorway and let his arms fall to his sides. “You’ve always been a strong, brave kid, but it’s okay to have weak moments,” he coaxed gently.

That was Shiro, always reassuring and having open arms. Still, Keith watched Shiro’s face and eyes, to see if he could find that twitch. The same twitch people gave him after his repeated bad behavior; sure they were there when he tripped up the first and second times, but then it changed. It became “must you be this way” or “is it for attention”. Then they simply gave up.

The knots in Keith’s stomach dissolved when he didn’t see that twitch happen on Shiro’s face. Shiro never even wavered eye contact, somehow knowing what Keith was doing. Keith released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

‘ _ Everything is fine, idiot, it always has been. _ ’ Keith frowned, the ache in his chest was still lingering. He knew why he wanted to seek out Shiro, but it was so embarrassing. He was practically a grown man now. Standing around wasn’t going to make this situation any less awkward, so Keith coughed lightly.

“H-hey, Shiro?” His voice came out small and he cracked his knuckles. “I was wondering, if it’s no big deal, could I have a…” His face was burning. “A hug.” It barely came out audible.

Shiro chuckled. “Anytime you want, buddy.” He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, making sure not to squeeze too tightly.

Keith had his arms between them at first, frozen by the fact that Shiro moved so easily. It had been a long time since he had a full-on hug. His arms slunk down and Shiro shifted so that the distance between them was closed. Keith carefully wrapped his arms around Shiro, resting his palms lightly on Shiro’s back.

There was a faint musk in Shiro’s shirt, an oddly comforting scent because it was, well, Shiro’s smell. ‘ _ Don’t  _ ever _ tell him that. _ ’ Keith warned himself and he focused on Shiro’s heartbeat instead. It was strong and slow, like a steady metronome.

Foggy memories from Keith’s childhood crept forward; whenever he was seriously injured or sobbing uncontrollably, his father would hold him like this. Anything outside of misery though and it was either nods or pats on the shoulders. Affection wasn’t commonplace for Keith’s family, he remembered that much. Some regret sprouted in Keith’s heart, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Keith felt Shiro’s soft breath near his head and he closed his eyes. Soon, their breathing synchronized perfectly and Keith was warm again. He was prepared to end the hugging session, but Shiro spoke up.

“You can always come to me for anything, Keith.” Shiro murmured.

That was the final blow. Keith tightened his embrace, his throat choking back a sudden urge to cry. He briefly remembered when he first met Shiro and didn’t salute or bothered to shake his hand. He was such a punk kid, but Shiro only smiled gently. Keith nodded, rubbing his face against Shiro’s chest in the process; he couldn’t talk just yet.

“You’ve been a great kid and you’re going to be a great man,” Shiro said warmly. “I’m proud of you, Keith.”

A tear slipped from the corner of Keith’s right eye, immediately soaking into Shiro’s black shirt. He cleared his throat, hoping that he wouldn’t crack his voice. “Thank you, Shiro.” He made sure every word had weight. Had to make sure that Shiro knew how important his actions were.

“Anytime.” Shiro patted Keith’s head with his flesh hand. “You want to get some goop or head somewhere else?”

Keith gave Shiro another squeeze, before pulling back. “Some goop actually sounds good right now.” He smiled up at his old friend.

The nightmare’s icy clutches had melted away and each step Keith took with Shiro, was a step away from that lonely town. 


	2. Hunk

Keith hated making a huge scene or making things awkward, but today was the motherload. They had endured one of the worst skirmishes with a Galra fleet, all their lions suffered some bad scuffs. Everyone was alive though and when they made it back to the Castle of Lions, Hunk immediately began expressing his relief.

All of the ruckus was behind Keith at the time, he usually strayed away from the group whenever they were congratulating or comforting each other. And usually, Shiro or Hunk would call out to Keith, asking if he was okay. He would give a brief answer or even raise his hand and that was enough. But today was a rough one and Hunk changed up the routine.

Without warning, Hunk grabbed Keith’s wrist to turn him around. There was a huge smile on his face, but Keith didn’t register that. Before Hunk could move an inch closer, Keith shoved him back.

“What are you doing?” Keith demanded, his voice like a crack of thunder in the hangar.

Hunk barely budged from Keith’s shove, but he did step back. “Dude, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,”  Hunk rushed the words out and held his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat.

“Hey, what’s your damage, Keith? Hunk was going to hug you, though I don’t know why--” Lance piped up and was about to walk over, but Shiro held him back.

‘ _ Oh crap. _ ’ Keith slowly blinked, hoping that maybe his actions were only in his head.

But he opened his eyes and saw regret in Hunk’s. He looked at Pidge, her face lit up by shock, which made her true age show through. Then he glanced at Shiro, his anchor, and was relieved to see nothing but compassion. He couldn’t bring himself to stare at Lance, because he could sense the animosity steaming off of the beanpole.

Keith turned around and walked out of the hangar, hearing Lance screeching about how Hunk didn’t deserve the cold shoulder. Hearing Shiro soothingly reassure Hunk that he didn’t do anything wrong, made Keith burn with shame. Even with the door hissing shut, Keith could’ve sworn he heard Hunk blubber out more apologies.

Of all the people to snap at, it had to be Hunk. The guy who was on the opposite spectrum of Keith, which wasn’t an insult at all. There were days when Keith would look over and see how easily everyone grabbed Hunk’s arms or hands and feel some envy. Hunk was a warm soul and people gravitated towards him for that. Keith was sharpened by too many rocks in his life.

Hunk didn’t deserve that sudden crack of outrage.

The room that Keith claimed was empty compared to the other paladins’. A habit he formed when he stayed somewhere--keep it minimal, easy to clear out if things got bad. He always treaded on the “if” and he  was crafted by “maybes” and “laters” and “not nows”. His bed groaned softly when he plopped down on it and his hand went to his knife. They were the same.

A knife was something that wasn’t explained and nobody besides Shiro bothered to figure out the explanation for Keith’s behavior. Frankly, he didn’t want to explain himself either. Yet, guilt nestled in Keith’s chest, because while he didn’t wish to waste his breath dumping out his past, he knew that Hunk didn’t deserve to be treated that way.

‘ _ I have to make it right, he’s a good fr--comrade. _ ’ Keith sighed and went to his work desk. His knife was already clean, but doing the motion calmed him. ‘ _ They probably think I’m such a freakin’ weirdo. _ ’ He scowled when the knife caught his reflection. ‘ _ You’re such a screw-up, Keith. _ ’

* * *

 

Keith skipped suppertime; even though it had already been a few hours, he still couldn’t come up with the right words. He grew weary thinking about all scenarios; if he were to apologize to Hunk, it would have to be one on one. Having others around would only make things worse, not because they were bothersome, but because Keith couldn’t handle explaining himself to everyone. Not yet, it had to happen in small steps, otherwise he’d shut himself off and make things worse.

He always made things worse.

Everyone had fallen into a routine, supper was usually about an hour long and everyone parted ways to have downtime, which meant that Hunk would be in his makeshift workshop near the hangar. Keith headed out, his heart heavy and his mind sluggish from bad memories.

Sure enough, Hunk was in his workshop, hunched over a strange looking tube. Hunk always left the door open and didn’t react to Keith entering the room. To be that comfortable was something Keith would never understand. He froze in place, unsure on what to do next. He could pretend he needed something or he could clear his throat or he could turn around and try some other time--

“Oh, hey Keith, am I in the way?” Hunk spoke soft and apprehensive, like a kid talking to his bully.

Keith crossed his arms over his chest and realized he probably looked more threatening so he put his hands down and clenched them. Somewhat less threatening. “N-no, of course not, I’m, uh…” His face heated up, talking on the fly wasn’t his strong suit. “...you know how you, uh, walk into a room and...forget what you’re supposed to get?” He silently berated himself for sounding weird, unnatural.

Hunk’s eyes analyzed Keith, especially his face. Something washed over Hunk and a smile spread on his face like a sunrise. “Heh, yeah, I get you. Maybe it’s because you didn’t eat, dude.” His eyes glimmered.

Keith bit his lip, the shame was blossoming in his gut now. “Yeah, maybe.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t have much of an appetite at the time,” he murmured. “Look, Hunk, I actually came here to apologize.”

“Huh.” Hunk quirked an eyebrow, struggling not to grin too broadly.

“I, what I did, was uncalled for. I should know by now that you’re not a threat, but sometimes my instinct kicks in.” Keith lifted his hands briefly before letting them slap against his legs. “I’m not using that as an excuse, you didn’t deserve that reaction. You’re a good person, so I’m sorry.” Keith released a sharp exhale, relieved to get out his apology.

Hunk nodded empathetically and walked up to Keith. “Hey, man, it’s cool. Don’t feel bad that you reacted like that. I don’t know your past, but I can tell it hasn’t been the rosiest. There are some things you can’t control. But the fact you came on your own to apologize, really shows how much of a good person you are.” Hunk carefully moved his right hand and lightly placed it on Keith’s shoulder. “Shiro’s right, you are a caring person.” A wide smile full of teeth grew on Hunk’s face and he patted Keith’s shoulder before removing his hand.

‘ _ You’re the good person,’  _ Keith thought sullenly and his chest ached. ‘ _ It’s not enough _ .’

“You okay, Keith?” Hunk’s smile shrank to a concerned thin line.

“Hunk, is it okay if--”

“--Go ahead, buddy.”

“Buddy?” Keith searched Hunk’s wide face and saw nothing but pure compassion.

“Yeah, man, we’re friends, heck even brother--oomph.” Hunk rasped the last bit when Keith threw himself at him.

He had thrown his arms around Hunk’s middle and it was the best choice he had made all day. It was like embracing a heating pad, pillow, and bean bag chair. Maybe one of those huge stuffed teddy bears? All the tension drained out of Keith and he sighed happily when Hunk embraced him back.

‘ _ I should’ve hugged him sooner. _ ’ Keith closed his eyes. ‘ _ Hugging isn’t so bad, I could get used to this. _ ’

“Hunk, you really do give the best hugs,” Keith muttered. “You feel great.” He felt his ears grow warm and he clamped his mouth shut. Didn’t want to say anything more that may embarrass him later.

There was some silence and then a soft squeak came from Hunk. “That means a lot to me, coming from you. You said I feel great, ah, okay, trying not to cry.” Hunk sniffed really hard, sucking in any escaping snot.

“My opinion matters that much?” Keith said more to himself than Hunk, but the big guy overheard him.

“Yeah, dude, you’re cool and you never get sick when you fly. I look up to you,” Hunk blurted.

Keith chuckled; it was great hearing that both of them admired each other. “I look up to you too, Hunk.” Their embrace tightened for a minute or so before they both released each other. “Are we cool?”

“Always have been,” Hunk rasped, his throat tight with emotion.

The quick, blunt response nearly made Keith hug Hunk again. But he didn’t want to exhaust his friend. Keith cleared his throat and glanced over at Hunk’s project.

“So...what have you been working on?”

“Oh, this? Just some menial wiring work for the castle.” Hunk waved it off as if it were a Kindergarten exercise. “But I was actually going to work on something cooler before you came in. So how about we get you some food, get me some food, and I’ll show you how I have a fun time?”

“Sounds fun.” Keith smirked and didn’t flinch when Hunk put an arm around him.

They walked closely together, muttering idle chatter and filling the cool castle hallways with a warm ambiance. 


End file.
